Being the amazing, true-to-life adventures and (very likely) misadventures of a writer who seeks to take his education, activism and seemingly boundless energy to North Minneapolis, (NoMi) to help with a process of turning a rapidly revitalizing neighborhood into something approaching Urban Utopia. I am here to be near my child. From 02/08 to 06/15 this blog pushed free speech to the envelope, so others could take heart and speak unafraid. Email me at hoffjohnw@gmail.com

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Northsider Joseph Alan Ohlgren Jailed Over A Pornography Charge, Details Unknown But It Can't Be Good, Plus Somebody Named Justin Bing Was Jailed Recently On Similar Porno Possession Charges...

Creative stock photo, Las Vegas, blog post by John Hoff

Scouring the Hennepin County Jail Roster reveals Joseph Alan Ohlgren, (DOB 10/14/79) a Northside resident who reportedly lives at 2406 James Ave. N., has been arrested on some kind of "possession of pornography" charge. The jail roster, which often leaves out key words like "attempted" when it comes to "murder" (among many other frustrating examples) lists the "pornography" charge against Ohlgren exactly as follows...POSSESS PORNOGRAPHIC WORK-COMPUTER DISK/ELECTRONIC/MAGNETIC/OPTICAL IMAGE W/PORNSince possession of pornography is not illegal, per se (whether on a computer disk, papyrus scroll or whatever media) there must be something particularly illegal about THIS pornography or Ohlgren's possession of it. I've omitted the word "allegedly" because the state of the charge on the jail roster is listed as "committed." It's also listed as a FELONY. However, in looking for the charge on MNCIS, (Minnesota's online court system) I don't find it. I can only find Ohlgren disobeyed a red light in 2005. (Was he in the "red light district?" I couldn't resist that joke)The 2406 James Ave. N. address is listed on the jail roster, but in 2005 Ohlgren's address was St. Cloud. There's very little information to be found about Ohlgren online BESIDES this recent charge, and even the "Mugshots R Us" websites are being lame where Ohlgren is concerned; promising mug shots but delivering none. The only other piece of information I have is the arresting authority was Brooklyn Center PD. Now here's where it gets even more mysterious. First of all, I've never seen anybody on the jail roster with a charge listed of pornography possession and, as readers know, I have been poring over that jail roster for YEARS. So how odd that only quite recently one "Justin Benjamin Bing" was listed on the jail roster, ALSO charged with pornography possession?Bing (and his address in Savage, Minnesota) are no longer accessible on the jail roster, though I caught sight of his name and jotted it down on a sticky pad a couple days ago. Looking up Bing in the MNCIS system, I see where he pled to pornography possession in 2011 and received probation with EXTENSIVE conditions. That included, for example, no access to internet without approval and monitoring. Plus ten years predatory offender registration. (I didn't find him in the state predatory offender registration, however)On April 8 of this month (about the time I found him on the jail roster) Bing received an amended sentence on his original charge, including 60 days in the workhouse. It's quite possible there's no connection between Ohlgren and Bing. Then again, who knows? Maybe the two arrests reveal a new crackdown or emphasis on certain crimes. Maybe somebody's computer was seized by police and the authorities followed the cyber trail where it led. Or it's just a coincidence. This much I know: When I never see a particular kind of charge on the jail roster, and suddenly I see two people charged with that same crime, it makes me interested. Particularly when there's a Northside address involved.